Where Are the Fall Colors?

Yesterday, I left Grand Rapids at 4:20 a.m. to get to Bass Lake in the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore an hour before sunrise. I had shot some photos at Bass Lake and the adjacent Otter Lake back in July. Back then I thought what a great place to visit in the fall, when the trees had some color. Driving north yesterday in the dark, I was filled with anticipation. But, when the sun came up, the trees gave only a hint of fall. That was true throughout the park – it is all still really green.

Still, the scene was beautiful and worth the drive.

As I waited for the sun to rise, I watched the setting moon reflected among the reeds in the water.

After breakfast, I headed over to Point Oneida, an area the always intrigues me. Driving along Baker Road, a two track road that bisects the point, I spied this view of the Carsten Burfield farm, with Lake Michigan in the background.

Turning the camera just a bit gave me this view of Sleeping Bear Dunes.

The farm buildings on Point Oneida are striking in their simplicity.

While there was little color at Sleeping Bear, I witnessed some beautiful color on the drive home. I stopped by the High Rollaway Overlook near Buckley, which I visited in September. Though not at peak, the colors were still breathtaking.